Femina has been capturing the essence of the Indian woman for 58 years now, and has evolved with her over the years bringing the world to her doorstep. And now, here's your chance to get the dope on everything--from celebrities and fashion, beauty and wellness, to lifestyle and relationships--delivered directly to your inbox. Plus expert tips, polls, contests and other interactive articles and a whole lot more!

Friend going through a break up? Here’s what not to say

If you’ve got a friend who’s just come out of a long-term relationship, there are a few things you should never say to them. While you want to be a good friend and help them out of their misery, at times, even the best of us can say the wrong thing at the wrong time, hurting them even further. You sure as hell wouldn’t want to give away any un-helpful advice or pass on any undermining comments. Read on to find out how you can help your newly single friends:

By telling them that what happened was ‘for a reason’ and they should ‘learn’ a lesson or two from their failed relationship, you’re only making them feel more miserable about themselves and that they wasted all their time and energy into a relationship that was already doomed.

Whether or not their ex-sweetheart was ‘bad’, nobody wants to be reminded about their ex’s bad habits or qualities. You wouldn’t want your already broken-hearted friend to feel that they were so blinded by someone who wasn’t what they were or at least pretended to be.

Being single can be fun at times, but reminding them about their ‘single status’ right away will do them no good. This will only remind them that they now will probably be alone for a very long time.

Telling them there are ‘other fishes in the sea’ or advising them to randomly hook up with strangers on Tinder is probably not the best way to go. They’re yet struggling to get out of a nightmarish relationship and forcing them to jump into another one can be problematic.

Suggesting that their ex may come crawling back into their life only means giving them false hope. He may or may not. You can’t be certain about that. Moreover, talking about other such possibilities will only mean taking them off the road to recovery.

The worse that you could say to your love sick friend is that their ex has already moved on with someone else. Trust us, they probably don’t want to compete with their ex to see who can move on first. Besides, telling them that maybe their ex had been cheating on them all this while will only make them wonder if they weren’t enough.

Telling your friend that you knew all this while that they were headed towards a breakup will only make you look like the enemy. Even if you knew that their relationship wouldn’t have survived, its best to leave things unsaid than cry later.

Whether or not you’ve been through a breakup and know what it’s exactly like to have your heart broken by someone you truly loved, everyone’s experiences are different. You can’t compare your heartbreak to that of your friend’s or tell them that you know what they are going through.